Dell Precision T3500 : Custom Case, Power Supply and I/O Panel

[Adroit17]

Hello,

I have a Dell T3500 Motherboard which I am trying to use to build a custom machine with custom case, power supply.

Motherboard links.
http://www.dell.com/downloads/global/products/precn/en/q2wk6_dell_precision_t3500_spec_sheet.pdf

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-System-Board-Dell-LGA1366-XPDFK-9KPNV-DDR3-SDRAM-6slots-lt-24G-PCIe16-eSata-/181528911055?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2047675.l2557&nma=true&si=M%252FRZuLztAdRGKkliKAmeCfzjwdM%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

http://data.technimax.cz/attach/artilky/precisiont3500technickymanual.pdf

Processor Intel : Xeon X5650 (needs 95W)
Original Power supply : 535W, 85% Efficient(optional)

Has anyone already done such a task in past?
Is 750/850 W power supply will work with it?
What about I/O panel? Will new cabinet/case will provide me one?

Regards,
Nirav

 

[Karsten75]

I/O panels usually come with the motherboard.

 

[Tyrvidar]

I came across one of these boards on ebay for 40 bucks and am in the process of making it work with a i7 920 I had from a failed motherboard/1366 setup I had. 1366 Motherboards are expensive as hell in todays market and I wasn't really interested in overclocking, I just wanted something cheap/stable to use the hardware on again and I have an extra case laying around I couldn't bring myself to get rid of. It happens to be an older full tower SilverStone TJ06 BTX case. Many of the holes line up on the motherboard nicely for me, very snug fit. The I7 920 Post fine on the board if anyone is wondering. I've ordered the Front panel/Dell Proprietary cable setup as I could not find a way to make the pin layout work with the standard cabling (good job Dell...). So I'll have a little Power switch job there to rig into the case (by default it powers on when power is given to the board no switch on/off if the Dell plug/panel is not installed). I'm using the stock Intel i7 cooler, I had to take a dremel to a couple small spots on the legs of the heatsink to sit flush over some of the boards parts. I'll get some pics together at some point and follow up. Its a neat little project, reviving some older hardware.... Any power supply should work, I'm using some crap tastic XION 850 watt psu right now I had extend the CPU power cables 6 inches as it wasn't up to date with todays standards.

 

[jaa228]

I came across one of these boards on ebay for 40 bucks and am in the process of making it work with a i7 920 I had from a failed motherboard/1366 setup I had. 1366 Motherboards are expensive as hell in todays market and I wasn't really interested in overclocking, I just wanted something cheap/stable to use the hardware on again and I have an extra case laying around I couldn't bring myself to get rid of. It happens to be an older full tower SilverStone TJ06 BTX case. Many of the holes line up on the motherboard nicely for me, very snug fit. The I7 920 Post fine on the board if anyone is wondering. I've ordered the Front panel/Dell Proprietary cable setup as I could not find a way to make the pin layout work with the standard cabling (good job Dell...). So I'll have a little Power switch job there to rig into the case (by default it powers on when power is given to the board no switch on/off if the Dell plug/panel is not installed). I'm using the stock Intel i7 cooler, I had to take a dremel to a couple small spots on the legs of the heatsink to sit flush over some of the boards parts. I'll get some pics together at some point and follow up. Its a neat little project, reviving some older hardware.... Any power supply should work, I'm using some crap tastic XION 850 watt psu right now I had extend the CPU power cables 6 inches as it wasn't up to date with todays standards.

I'm very interested in how this build turns out. Right now I am building a custom machine with this mobo and an Intel Xeon W3520 (basically i7-920). I'm glad to read that the mobo will by default power on because I don't think the button in the old case I'm putting it in will work. Is this the power switch you bought? I don't see where the power button is on that. Also, did the power supply you used work? I was told that those are proprietary too. I found this converter if you want to use a non dell psu. Any feedback you have will be extremely helpful. Thanks!

 

[Tyrvidar]

Project "Cheap 1366 Mobo Alternative" completed... Gave it to my brother and he is tearing through a copy of BF4 on the system as we speak no issues. Not the greatest PC in the world but he was still running on an 8400 so this was an upgrade for him.

I7 920, 10 gigs of Corsair(I seem to be missing a stick...) Radeon 6950, and I tossed in a Xonar DG for some extra sound love... runs pretty good. I don't think these boards support SLI(may or may not work), but if I come across another cheap 6950 I will try out some Crossfire action. Overall I think I have 55$ into the Mobo/Dell Front panel + a bunch of unused parts laying around from systems gone by.

Jaa228 yeah that is the correct board... also any PSU with 24 pin primary power connection and 2x 4 Pin CPU power cables will work fine. The power switch is right in the middle and recessed. It has an extension for sound and a couple of USB ports tied to it. I zip tied mine into a 3.5 drive bay and disabled the On-Board Sound/Front Panel USB ports (you can use them no problem I'm sure). I had to tap the front panel board to utilize the cases power switch. You'll need a fine soldering iron to tap the front panel indicators (HDD, Power Light...) and a steady hand... or you could rig something up to utilize the switch already on there all up to you.

Without the front panel or Dell fans I was getting multiple missing or failed prompts that you could just bypass but I became OCD about(no bios feature to disable). I took out the 120mm & 80mm originally on the front of this case and installed a couple of used Dell proprietary 90mm fans to utilize their fan ports on the board. As mentioned above the front panel was installed as well and no more codes.

So it can be done... Just need to put some elbow grease into it.